League of Wilderness Defenders/Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Connaughton
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court decision denying environmental groups’ motion to preliminarily enjoin a logging project in the Whitman-Wallowa National Forest in northeast Oregon. The lower court held that the groups were not likely to succeed on any of their ...
Friends of the Wild Swan v. Ashe
A district court held that FWS' delay in developing and implementing a recovery plan for the Canada lynx, which was listed as threatened in 2000, is unreasonable. The ESA directs FWS to prepare a recovery plan for listed species but does not include a timetable or indication of the speed with which ...
In Defense of Animals v. United States Department of the Interior
The Ninth Circuit held that BLM's roundup or "gather" of approximately 1,639 wild horses and 160 burros from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA) on the California-Nevada border complied with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and NEPA. Post-gather, 793 wild horses and 160 burros resid...
Ark Initiative v. Tidwell
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the U.S. Forest Service's decision denying an emergency petition filed by an environmental group seeking “roadless” designation for roughly 1,000 acres on Burnt Mountain in Colorado's Snowmass ski area and suspension of the Aspen Skiing Company’s authorization to cut ...
San Juan County, Utah v. United States
The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision rejecting the claims of San Juan County and the state of Utah to a public right-of-way, called Salt Creek Road, in Canyonlands National Park. The state and county wish to use their claimed right-of-way to prevent the United States from closing the Salt...
Massachusetts v. Pritzker
A district court granted summary judgment in favor of NMFS in a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts and New Hampshire challenging the agency's decision to promulgate Frameworks 48 and 50 regulating New England’s Multispecies Fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Th...